However, having gotten a good handle on it in the past few days (Felix had put in over 30 hours before the weekend was out) and explored the titular World a lot, we’re keen to find out your standout tracks so far.
Tracks, as in circuits, or tracks, as in music off the soundtrack? you may well ask. Well, despite the incredible number of killer cuts that play as you race, today we’ll be focusing on the courses – but watch this space for a musical deep-dive at some point!
You’ll find a poll at the bottom, but let’s hear first from Team NL and get their picks…
Space Race & Movie Magic (Alana Hagues, deputy editor)
This might be my favourite selection of new courses in Mario Kart history. I know the intermission tracks are divisive, but in terms of visual variety and layout? It’s staggering. I’ve spent all weekend thinking about this question.
I’ve settled on the two that I think are the most different from anything we’ve had before — DK Spaceport and Boo Cinema. The former is such a fun tribute to the original arcade Donkey Kong, chasing a robotic version of DK with the iconic music from the arcade remixed perfectly. It’s an eight-checkpoint race up a huge structure with so many twists and turns. I love it.
Boo Cinema is self-explanatory. How have we not had a movie theatre race course before? Plus, I love Boo (and King Boo, often my go-to MK character since Double Dash). This course was made for me. Jumping through the screen with the sepia scenery and movie reels? And a little bit of Banshee Boardwalk outside? Ugh. Magic.
I have a million honourable mentions — Cheep Cheep Falls, Whistlestop Summit, Acorn Heights. But I might be restrained if I continue.
Anything with water (Gavin Lane, editor)
Watch out, here comes the 40-something gaming dude with the Wave Race fetish!
Yes, the moment I saw MKW’s hot wave tech, I was jonesing to see how Nintendo would channel its AWOL jet ski series. And my word, it’s got me worried that an actual new Wave Race might feel a bit vanilla after the hijinx of hop-boosting off crests and lobbing projectiles while zipping across the water.
If you want a specific course, Wario’s Galleon was the first water course I encountered and it made a serious impression. I’ve barely touched the Free Roam mode just yet, but I feel like I’ll be spending a lot of my time in the brine.
Life, uh, finds a way (Ollie Reynolds, staff writer)
I love me some dinosaurs.
So naturally, I’ve gravitated immediately toward the new version of Dino Dino Jungle. Being able to dash up the Triceratops’ head to get an early boost is a thrill, and avoiding the stomping Brachiosaurus and T-Rex will never stop being fun. Plus, the music reminds me of Alton Towers, somehow, which just dredges up some wonderful childhood memories.
I also adore Starview Peak, if only because the twisty-turny waterways remind me of the Loopdeeloop Galaxy from Super Mario Galaxy. Racing through for the first time brought back memories of the Manta Ray Surfing, and I only wish the game offered this up as a vehicle option.
The ultimate question (block) (Jim Norman, staff writer)
Gosh, can I say “every circuit”? No? Okay, fine, I’ll narrow it down, but if you think I’m going to be able to stick to just one, you’ve got another thing coming.
I’m a sucker for anything that has a really cool flying sequence in it. It’s why I’ve always loved DK Mountain so much, and it’s why I was grinning cheek to cheek when I first flew up to The Great ? Block Ruins. Aside from its awesome Indiana Jones vibes and the shortcut potential that I’ll never be skilled enough to use, this track is just so gosh-darn cool! It’s all high-flying jumps and wicked rail riding – eat your heart out, Tony Hawk.
I’m going to throw in a mention for Rainbow Road, too. It’s one of the easier variants out there, I’ll admit, but it’s such a wonderful victory lap for the game itself, with all those little nods to the circuits before it — if you haven’t spotted the train yet, you’re in for a treat. Oh yeah, and it has the sharp, ace ascent to get up to it. What can I say, I’m a predictable chap.
The one where you fall off a lot (PJ O’Reilly, staff writer)
Rainbow Road is, and always will be, my favourite MK track for the simple reason that, ever since the OG Super Mario Kart back in ’92, it’s the one that puts the fear factor front and centre (for a man of my modest driving skills, at least). This is the track that I get sweaty thinking about, because my timings need to be reasonably good for fast snaking through corners that, if misjudged, lead to a very time-consuming drop into the abyss.
Looking back on the first Rainbow Road, my brain imagines something in line with the majestic, cloud-buffeted spectacle presented here in Mario Kart World, where in fact it’s actually a very rudimentary course indeed. But the corners, those corners remain a constant, and the thing that has kept this track, in its various guises, as my fave time and again. It may look approximately 1,000,000,000 times better these days, but the core conceit remains. This is the track where you get a little test on those drift skills.
Oh, and this might actually be my favourite variant of RR in ages, too. I love the lead into it, the magically crumbling start to the blocks, how the karts are lifted up through the air to it, and how you can see the twisting course spread out across the cloudscape ahead as you barrel along. What a cracker – and an insanity in multiplayer!
So there you have it. It’s tough, though, because the way Grand Prix works in this one, some of those transition routes between circuits are pretty neat in their own right!
Let us know in the poll below your favourite tracks of the 30 available (remember that Crown City and Peach Stadium are repeated in Grand Prix mode with different variants), and take to the comments if there’s a specific highway, byway, or raceway section that’s floating your kart-turned-boat.
